2007 Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion

The Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion for 2007 was awarded by the Society of Architectural Historians to David Robinson for his book, The Cistercians in Wales, Architecture and Archaeology 1130-1540, published by the Society of Antiquaries in 2006.

In his preface David Robinson remarks that the book began as an extended essay, developed into something more extensive and yet is still a book of modest ambition. Your reading committee felt that he undersold himself. Though the work is narrowly focused on the 14 abbeys of the Cistercian order in Wales we found it a work of wide-ranging scholarship. The detailed analysis of what was done in Wales is so clearly set into the context of what was done in the rest of Britain and Europe that it illuminates a much wider picture. The book must now be essential reading for any scholar of gothic architecture. And while there is proper emphasis on the Cistercians as church builders there is a very welcome analysis of the claustral buildings, often better preserved and often works of art in their own right; these show how the monastic community worked. Tintern is undoubtedly the most famous of these abbeys but the book opens our eyes to the significance of the rest. It is beautifully illustrated (though we would have liked at least a few colour photographs) with well chosen drawings and diagrams of great clarity. These last owe much to CADW and a drawing tradition, previously recognised by the Society in the award of this medallion to Peter Smith for his book on the houses of the Welsh countryside.

This book is a worthy successor in a tradition of architectural history which unites archaeological analysis with an acute historically based appreciation of architecture. And though this consideration took no part in our decision it is a particular pleasure to note that that we were able to make this award in the year in which the Society of Antiquaries, its publisher, celebrated its tercentenary year. It is a great example of the way antiquarian studies have progressed in recent years.